Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has ramped up pressure on Peter Dutton to declare his party’s position on the Voice to parliament, but moderate Liberals and conservative Voice supporters say the final wording of the referendum has failed to alleviate their concerns about the way the Indigenous body would operate.
Albanese on Friday abandoned previous attempts to seek bipartisan support for the referendum, saying the opposition leader is not genuine in seeking further detail on the way the Voice would work with parliament.
Anthony Albanese, left, says Opposition Leader Peter Dutton is not genuine in seeking further detail on the way the Voice would work with parliament.Credit:Alex Ellinghausen
“No matter how much detail is put out, Peter Dutton will say, ‘Oh, what about more detail?’ That’s the game that’s being played here,” Albanese said at a press conference on Friday in the Melbourne seat of Aston, which goes to a byelection on April 1.
Dutton did not make any public appearances on Friday, but other conservatives expressed their misgivings about the Voice, questioning whether it would have any practical benefit and warning about its legal implications.
Former Victorian premier Jeff Kennett, Liberal moderate Warren Entsch and former Nationals leader Michael McCormack all share some of Dutton’s concerns about how the government is approaching the referendum.
High-profile conservative Voice backer Greg Craven slammed the revised wording of the proposed constitutional amendment.
“I think the total disaster is we’ve already got a referendum that’s heading south in the polls, even before this it was describing the typical arc of a losing referendum. Now with this, I think, firstly, you’re going to have a bad proposal and that’s going to be even worse for the referendum,” he told ABC News.
After a lengthy process of legal review, the proposed design of the Voice would allow the body to give independent advice to the parliament and the government, and make proactive representations as well as respond to requests for advice.
Conservative critics are particularly alarmed that the body would be able to consult directly with executive government, which refers to ministers and the public service, as well as making representations to parliament. Craven, among others, has argued this gives it too much scope to interfere in daily government while also leaving open the possibility of High Court challenges.
McCormack, who last year suggested the Nationals could revise their opposition to the Voice once more detail was released, said Albanese’s final referendum wording had not satisfied his concerns.
The Voice would “cause another level of bureaucracy and that worries many of the people I’ve spoken to”, he said, adding that “rather than actually providing a clearer path, it has made people more concerned”.
“My position has not changed. I’m worried about this, I don’t think it will enhance the lives or livelihoods of those who need it most,” he said. “There is a lot hanging on this for the prime minister – he has put all his chips behind it.”
Entsch, the Queensland Coalition MP who championed same-sex marriage within his party, said Thursday’s release of further detail – which the government hoped would assuage some critics – had not done enough to explain how the Voice would work.
He said prominent Indigenous leaders in his electorate did not support the Voice and were sceptical about its ability to reverse disadvantage.
“Things have got to improve [for Indigenous Australians],” he said. “But they’re on an all-or-nothing campaign. My fear is that we lose it all,” he said.
“They’re going to do it on a vibe, on a slogan, but what does that slogan actually mean?”
Moderate Liberal Bridget Archer, one of only a few Coalition MPs who have publicly backed the Voice, repeated her call for Liberals to be able to campaign for whichever side of the referendum they believed in. Entsch also supports a free vote.
“The party room hasn’t decided a final position on the Voice and I remain hopeful that at least there will be a free vote,” Archer said.
Her call was backed by former prime minister Malcolm Turnbull, who said Coalition MPs should have a conscience vote.
“Given the strong differences of opinion in the party room, I would expect Dutton to allow a free vote as [John] Howard did over the republic or as I did over same-sex marriage. This would allow prominent Liberals to campaign on either side of the debate,” he said.
Kennett, a member of the Voice co-design process led by Indigenous leaders Marcia Langton and Tom Calma, said Albanese was making a fatal mistake by enshrining the Voice in the Constitution. Kennett argued just recognition of Indigenous Australians should be added to the Constitution because taking a more minimalist approach would provide a better chance of winning.
“I don’t understand why the prime minister doesn’t recognise, regardless of what the polls say, that he is putting at risk the referendum failing – which I don’t want to happen,” Kennett said.
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